St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-24

come down with the sportfulness of al
| the past ages-chess and Charades and
! tableauX and battledOre and calisthenics
and lawn tennis, and all those amuse-
ments which 5he/ yOung people of our
| homes know so well how to contrive
Then there will be the parlor socialities
groups of people assembled in your
homes, with wit and mimicry and joval-
| ity, filling the room with Joy from the
door to the mantel, and from the carpet
to the ceiling. Oh, is there any exhila-
ration like a score of genial souls in one
room, each one adding contribution of
his own individual merriment to the ag-
gregation of general hilarity?
Suppose you want to go abroad in the
city, then you will find the panorama
and the art gallery and exquisite collec-
tions of pictures. You will find the
Metropolitan Museum and the Historical
Society rooms full of rare curiosities,
and scores of places which can stand
plainly the test of what is right and
wrong in amusements. You will
find the lecturing hall, which has
been honOred by the names Of Agas-
siz in natural history, Doremus in
chemistry, Boynton in geology, Mitchell
in astronomy, John B. Cough in moral
reform, and scores and hundreds of men
who have poured their Wit and genius
and ingenuity through that particular
channel upon the hearts and cOnsciences
and imaginatiOns of men, setting this
country fifty years further in advance
than it would have been without the lee
ture platform.
| rejoice in the populariZation of out
door sports. | hail the croquet ground
and the tisherman's rod and the sports
mans gun. In our cities life is so un
healthy and unnatural that when the
census-taker represents a city as having
four hundred thousand inhabitants, there
are only two hundred thousand, since it
takes at least two men to amount to one
man, SO depicting and unnerving and
eXhausting is this metropolitan life. We
want more fresh air, more sunlight,
more of the abandon of tield-spOrts.
l cry out for it in behalf of the
Church of God as we'll as in behalf of sec
our ponds and our rivers, and our Capt.
toline Grounds might be all aquake with
the heel and the shout of the swift
weather comes, the graceful oar might
UP tIc StlcdlI, dull lHC th tlllll tl'lC pC
resonant with boatman's song, the bright
PROV splitting the crystalling billow.
We shall have the smooth and grassy
lawns, and we will call out people of
all occupations and professions, and
ask them to join in the ball play
er's sport You will come back
from these outdoor exercises and
recreations with strength in your arm.
and color in your cheek, and a flash in
your eve, and courage in your heart. In
this great battle that is opening against
the kingdom of darkness we want not
only a consecrated soul, but strong arm
and stout lungs and mighty muscle.
bless God that there are so many reCrea
tions that have not on them any taint Of
iniquity; recreations in which we may
engage for the strengthening Of the body,
for the clearing of the intellect, for the
illumination of the soul.
There is still another form Of recrea
ton which commend to you, and that
is the pleasure of doing good. | have
seen young men, weak and cross and
sour and repelling in their disposition,
who by one heavenly touch have
wakened up and become blessed and
buoyant, the ground under their feet
and the sky over their heads breaking
forth into music. "Oh,' says some
young man in the house to-day, II should
like that recreation above all others, but
| have not the means My dear
brother, let US take an account of stock
this morning. You have large estate,
if you only realize it. Two hands. Two
feet. You will have, perhaps, during the
next year at least ten dollars for charita
bic contribution. You will have twenty
five hundred cheerful looks, if you want
to employ them. You will have five
thousand pleasant words, if you want to
speak them. Now, what an amount that
is to start with.
You go out tomorrow morning and
you see case of real destitution by the
wayside. You give him two cents. The
blind man hears the pennies rattle in his
hat, and he says, Thank you, sir; God
bless youH' You pass down the street, try
ing to look indifferent, but you feel from
the very depth ofyour soul profound sat-
isfaction that you made that man happy
You go on still further and find poor
boy with a wheelbarrow, trying to get it
up on the curbstone. He fails in the at
tempt. You say, Stand back, my lad;
let me try" You push it up on the curb
stone for him, and pass on. He wonders
who that well-dressed man was that
helped him. You did a kindness to the
boy, but you did great joy to your own
soul. You will not get over it all the
week.
On the street, tomorrow morning,
you will see a sick man passing along.
"Ah," you say, what can | do to make
this man happy? He certainly does not
want money; he is not poor, but he is
sick" Give him one of those twenty
five hundred cheerful looks that you
have garnered up for the whole year.
Look Joy and hopcfulness into his soul.
1t will thrill him through, and there will
be reaction upon your own soul. Going
little further on, you will come to the
store of friend who is embarrassed in
business matters. You will go in and
say, "What a fine store you have
think business will brighten up and you
will have more custom after a while. |
think there is coming great prosperity
to all the country. Good morning" You
pass out You have helped that young
man and you have helped yourself And
that night you go home; you sit by the
fire you talk little, you sing little,you
laugh little; you say, Il really don't
know what is the matter with me.
never felt so splendidly in my life" l
will tell what is the matter with you